Family moving to Johnson City (Elizabethton, Jonesborough: homes, transferring to, elementary school)

[chasitysr]

Hello! My husband and our young daughter, whom will be starting Kindergarten this coming fall, are moving to Johnson City this summer. My first concern is a place to live. We're looking for a cozy starter home in a middle class subdivision. What are the bad areas of town etc.? I am transferring to ETSU for my senior year of nursing, so we want to be close to the school, but not close enough to be ran over by college partiers. Also, I found two private schools online, Ashley Academy and Tri-Cities Christian, how would you rate these schools? Are they any better than the public schools? Our daughter is a very shy, intelligent, sweet little girl. She likes a calm enviroment, and our biggest concern is a teacher with a LOVING, CARING, SWEET personality- we all know how important the first year of school for our little ones. So ANY advice on your experience will Kinder. teachers, who not to get, which elementary school NOT to send her to would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much for your time and God Bless!!
The Langman Family

[mbmouse]

Welcome to the Tri-Cities Langman family!
Have you looked at Gray? It is North Washington County but it is a 15 minute, easy drive to ETSU campus. The school here seems like it will fit your bill exactly. The teachers are wonderful! You can get a nice 3/2 in friendly subdivision for about 130k and they are about 1/2 acres or so. I love the area we are in because the kids are always out playing with each other and as there is one road that goes in and out, no through traffic are on our roads so that makes the kids safer when they play and ride bikes. We have lots of basketball hoops up at the ends of driveways and such.
The only other school I can think of that I would recommend close to ETSU that would fit your daughters needs and caliber you are looking for would be Cherokee Elementary but it is rather crowded I believe they are up to 25 students per class. They are building a second elementary school in Gray and right now the average class size is 20 students per class.
I hope that helps some.

[ania]

Both schools you mentioned are private schools. An additional one, if you're planning to go that route, would be St. Mary's. Regarding grade schools in the area, most city schools (particulary Johnson City) have good reputations.
Now regarding "bad areas", I'm not sure you'll find too many. There are some older homes closer to the downtown area that you may find a little less family-friendly, but I don't think you'll find it hard to find a home to suit your needs. In addition to Gray (north of JC), you may also want to consider Jonesborough (west of JC) as well as Elizabethton (east of JC). I can't speak for the schools, but home prices and land may also be more affordable than living in JC.